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5 Ways Biology Is Transforming Buildings
Throughout history, humans have invented ways to build shelters that keep us cool and make us warm. Learn how innovators are making sustainable buildings today.
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Key Ideas
As this video progresses, key ideas will be introduced to invoke discussion.
Think about the following questions as you watch the video
- What challenge was solved in the 20th century that transformed the way we heat our homes?
- How did the polar bear’s anatomy help us develop a more sustainable heating method?
- Briefly explain how the new type of solar collector developed in Germany and Austria in 2015 created heat.
- Architects in the United States have drawn inspiration from the human body to develop a new method of regulating temperatures in buildings. What was the inspiration, and how did they apply it to their innovation?
: This video was created in partnership with Bill Gates,
: inspired by his new book “How to Avoid a Climate Disaster.”
: You can find out more about how we can all work together
: to avoid a climate disaster in the link below.
: One of the basic human needs is shelter.
: And over the short time humans have been on Earth,
: we’ve come up with a lot of different ways to shelter ourselves—
: from mud huts, to wooden buildings, to the towering skyscrapers of many cities.
: But many of those materials aren’t as strong as they could be.
: And the ones that are can have an outsized impact on our planet.
: So now, architects and engineers are turning to nature for inspiration
: for more resilient materials—stuff that improves on what we use now,
: and that often minimizes the impact we have on this planet.
: From cement that acts like sweat glands to glass that mimics fish scales, here are
: some biology-inspired materials that could transform the future of construction.
: One major threat to buildings is fire.
: When a fire sweeps through a structure,
: it often means a lot of new construction is on the way.
: That often means more cement and steel—
: and making both of those involves a lot of greenhouse gases.
: Thankfully, there are all kinds of ways to make a building safer in a fire.
: In addition to fire alarms, extinguishers, and sprinklers,
: you can add fireproof materials to the building’s support structure
: to keep it from failing, as well as to the walls, floors, and ceilings,
: to keep fire from spreading.
: But these are all passive methods. And because they’re extra materials,
: they add extra cost and take extra energy to make.
: So it would be helpful if there were materials that could
: actively prevent fire damage, plus be supportive.
: Well, researchers in China may have invented just that,
: using human sweat glands for inspiration.
: In a paper published in 2019, they shared their development of a
: fire-retardant cement blend, which stops fire from damaging
: a building’s structure sort of like how sweat keeps human bodies cool.
: The cement is a blend of three materials: a set of compounds named APP-PER-EN,
: some reinforcing fibers, and a concrete binder.
: Under normal conditions, it does what you’d expect—
: it holds up the weight of a building.
: But if there’s a fire, it goes through four stages to stop that fire in its tracks.
: First, as temperatures rise between 100 and 160 degrees Celsius,
: the reinforcing fibers and the APP-PER-EN start to melt —
: kind of like how sweat glands make sweat when you start to get warm.
: When the temperature reaches above 170 degrees Celsius,
: micro-channels and cracks form.
: Then, temperatures above 300 degrees cause the APP-PER-EN to foam, filling the
: micro-channels and cracks and forming a fire insulation layer like sweat on skin.
: And finally, as the insulating layer forms, gases get released, including water vapor.
: This mimics the cooling mechanism of sweat—
: how when sweat evaporates, it takes some of the body heat with it.
: This insulating layer protects the cement from falling under high heat
: by taking on a honeycomb shape.
: This adds strength while also insulating against heat transfer
: using the air trapped in the honeycombs. I know! It sounds like science fiction!
: Then, after a fire, you can remove the honeycomb layer and repair the material
: instead of having to replace the entire cement structure, saving costs and resources.
: Next, speaking of heat, humans have been passively heating their homes
: with sunlight for thousands of years.
: But we couldn’t control the release of this heat until the 20th century.
: Only then did we invent collectors like thermal walls, which could absorb heat
: from sunlight and slowly release it over time, keeping us warm throughout the day.
: The trouble is, most of these collectors are made from rigid,
: heavy materials, which means their uses are limited.
: So engineers are looking to polar bears as inspiration for textile-like solar collectors,
: which would be more efficient, lightweight, and flexible than their predecessors.
: Polar bears have white fur and black skin that work together as a natural solar
: collector and insulator, which helps them stay warm in the extreme cold of the Arctic.
: Their outer fur is actually transparent—it only looks white
: because of the way it’s structured.
: That transparency allows the sunlight to reach their dark skin,
: which converts the sun’s energy into warmth.
: Another layer of dense underfur close to their skin is spaced just right,
: creating little pockets of air that trap heat close to the bear’s body.
: In fact, they radiate so little heat that they’re almost invisible to infrared detectors.
: The surface of their coats looks the same temperature as their environment!
: Inspired by this heat-trapping ability, researchers based in Germany and Austria
: shared a new type of solar collector in a 2015 paper.
: They imagine it being used as part of solar power,
: but this general idea could also help with buildings, too.
: The collector has two layers of transparent plastic and silicone
: that let light pass through to the bottom layer.
: These layers are positioned around a centimeter apart, trapping a layer of air
: between them and minimizing heat loss like a polar bear’s underfur.
: The bottom layer is black silicone, which absorbs the sun’s light
: and converts it to heat.
: And the warm air can be pumped out by a fan and stored for later use.
: Early tests show that this collector is able to generate temperatures
: of up to 150 degrees Celsius—although right now that only works
: when it’s in direct sunlight.
: Still, while those extreme temperatures might be helpful for solar power,
: that’s also not the kind of heat you’d need in a building.
: So, this idea could really come in handy,
: especially as textile-based buildings become more mainstream.
: These futuristic buildings are constructed from lightweight materials
: stretched over a frame or woven together,
: and are making everything about a building more sustainable,
: including its design, materials, usage, and even how it’s recycled at the end of its life.
: Adding a polar bear-inspired heating system would make them even more versatile.
: Buildings also need to stay comfortable in hot weather, though—
: and traditional cooling systems aren’t always the most efficient way
: of managing a building’s temperature.
: Also, heating and cooling systems account for a lot of
: the greenhouse gases we emit as a planet.
: Architects in the U.S. may have come up with a more efficient way
: of regulating a building’s temperature, though,
: and once again they have drawn on inspiration from the human body.
: In 2011, they released a prototype of a building exterior
: modeled after a biological process that’s similar to a thermostat—
: if a thermostat could control more than just temperature.
: That process is called homeostasis, and many organisms use it
: to keep their bodies functioning within pre-set limits,
: like an ideal temperature range or fluid balance.
: Basically, it allows things to remain stable on the inside
: even as conditions change on the outside.
: The team designed a glass building facade
: inspired by the way human muscles maintain homeostasis,
: by expanding and contracting to regulate heat as they work inside our bodies.
: Similarly, the facade helps regulate the internal temperature of the building
: by opening and closing itself.
: The exterior of the building is made up of two layers of glass,
: and sandwiched between them are swirling silver lines.
: Those lines are made up of ribbons of a special type of polymer
: that can have an electric current applied to it.
: It also has a silver coating that distributes an electrical charge
: across the entire surface.
: When sunlight warms the silver coating,
: the polymer expands and shades the building.
: Then, when the building cools off, the polymer contracts and allows more light inside.
: That way, the building responds to changing environmental conditions throughout
: the day, helping manage energy use in a more efficient and sustainable way.
: Now, this tech might not be best for places where you want extra sunlight—
: like, in the middle of a cold winter.
: But for a lot of climates, it could be a great step forward.
: Next up: concrete.
: Like we mentioned earlier, making concrete is a major contributor to climate change,
: but sometimes, it seems like there’s only so much you can do about that.
: Like, if a building is damaged during an earthquake…
: well, you’re gonna have to build another one.
: Some teams are looking into concrete recipes or processes
: that are overall better for the planet, but some are taking another route.
: Like, researchers at Purdue University are trying to strengthen concrete instead…
: by using cracks.
: More specifically, in 2018, they developed 3-D printed cement structures
: inspired by the mantis shrimp.
: Mantis shrimp hit their prey with a club-like front claw
: at an extremely high speed, which generates a lot of force.
: But even then, that claw does not crumble under pressure,
: thanks to the way the shell’s microscopic layers are arranged.
: The layers are stacked in a spiral, each layer slightly offset from the next.
: When stressed, cracks form in the microscopic layers, but the twisted structure
: keeps the cracks from spreading through the entire club.
: Specifically, the spiral forces the cracks to form parallel,
: or side to side within a layer, instead of perpendicular—or top to bottom.
: And every time a crack has to change direction,
: it requires a lot of force to do so, which causes it to lose some of its energy.
: If a crack does spread top to bottom, the next layer vibrates as the crack reaches it,
: absorbing the energy from the crack, keeping it from traveling into the next layer.
: Ultimately, these tiny twisting cracks stop the club from falling apart,
: by preventing larger cracks from forming that would compromise the structure.
: Using this club for inspiration, the researchers 3D printed a cement paste
: that’s laid out in a similar spiral design.
: Poured cement is brittle and when stressed,
: large cracks can form and lead to catastrophic failure.
: Not so with this 3D-printed material. Here, tiny cracks are stopped
: so they don’t spread throughout the layers, just like with the mantis shrimp.
: So the concrete is inherently stronger.
: The goal is to eventually use this type of material to build more
: earthquake-resistant structures. And that means less wasted concrete!
: Finally, windows. Windows can be an incredibly important part of a building
: on an aesthetic level. But since they’re so fragile, they’re also the weakest.
: Except, by mimicking an overlapping pattern found in fish scales,
: researchers may have found a way to improve the strength of laminated glass,
: while still preserving the ability to see through it.
: Laminated glass is created by sandwiching a soft,
: polymer-based layer between two layers of regular glass.
: This keeps the glass together if it breaks, making it safer.
: But it is not stronger—or at least it wasn’t until researchers in Canada
: discovered a way to improve the lamination process.
: In a paper published in 2018, they outlined their process
: for strengthening glass with a new lamination technique.
: They started by coating two sheets of glass with a flexible,
: heat-resistant polymer film, and then etched straight lines into the glass with a laser.
: The polymer film holds the glass together through the etching process.
: Then, they laid the sheets of glass on top of each other,
: with another layer of flexible polymer sandwiched between.
: They also rotated the top sheet of glass so the etched lines go in the
: opposite direction—known as cross-ply architecture—
: and that gives the glass added strength and flexibility.
: When this type of glass is stressed, the cross-ply architecture and stretchy polymer
: middle work together to help the glass be stretchy and tough instead of brittle.
: Testing revealed this glass to be 50 times tougher than regular glass,
: while still maintaining its see-through qualities.
: If this kind of glass spread, that would mean stronger, safer windows that might
: need to be replaced less often—all thanks to a pattern inspired by fish.
: Nature has been around for a long time, and we’re only beginning to tap into
: the engineering insights you can get from billions of years of evolution.
: But with materials like these, we’re looking at a future of buildings
: that are safer, more resilient, and better for our planet.
: When you think about things contributing to climate change,
: construction materials might not be what comes to mind first.
: But making things like cement, steel, and plastic releases a lot of greenhouse gases.
: And if you want to keep learning more about how we can make those things better,
: you can read Bill Gates’s new book “How to Avoid a Climate Disaster.”
: It talks about manufacturing, but also food,
: heating and cooling, transportation, and more.
: If you’re interested, you can find out more about
: inspired by his new book “How to Avoid a Climate Disaster.”
: You can find out more about how we can all work together
: to avoid a climate disaster in the link below.
: One of the basic human needs is shelter.
: And over the short time humans have been on Earth,
: we’ve come up with a lot of different ways to shelter ourselves—
: from mud huts, to wooden buildings, to the towering skyscrapers of many cities.
: But many of those materials aren’t as strong as they could be.
: And the ones that are can have an outsized impact on our planet.
: So now, architects and engineers are turning to nature for inspiration
: for more resilient materials—stuff that improves on what we use now,
: and that often minimizes the impact we have on this planet.
: From cement that acts like sweat glands to glass that mimics fish scales, here are
: some biology-inspired materials that could transform the future of construction.
: One major threat to buildings is fire.
: When a fire sweeps through a structure,
: it often means a lot of new construction is on the way.
: That often means more cement and steel—
: and making both of those involves a lot of greenhouse gases.
: Thankfully, there are all kinds of ways to make a building safer in a fire.
: In addition to fire alarms, extinguishers, and sprinklers,
: you can add fireproof materials to the building’s support structure
: to keep it from failing, as well as to the walls, floors, and ceilings,
: to keep fire from spreading.
: But these are all passive methods. And because they’re extra materials,
: they add extra cost and take extra energy to make.
: So it would be helpful if there were materials that could
: actively prevent fire damage, plus be supportive.
: Well, researchers in China may have invented just that,
: using human sweat glands for inspiration.
: In a paper published in 2019, they shared their development of a
: fire-retardant cement blend, which stops fire from damaging
: a building’s structure sort of like how sweat keeps human bodies cool.
: The cement is a blend of three materials: a set of compounds named APP-PER-EN,
: some reinforcing fibers, and a concrete binder.
: Under normal conditions, it does what you’d expect—
: it holds up the weight of a building.
: But if there’s a fire, it goes through four stages to stop that fire in its tracks.
: First, as temperatures rise between 100 and 160 degrees Celsius,
: the reinforcing fibers and the APP-PER-EN start to melt —
: kind of like how sweat glands make sweat when you start to get warm.
: When the temperature reaches above 170 degrees Celsius,
: micro-channels and cracks form.
: Then, temperatures above 300 degrees cause the APP-PER-EN to foam, filling the
: micro-channels and cracks and forming a fire insulation layer like sweat on skin.
: And finally, as the insulating layer forms, gases get released, including water vapor.
: This mimics the cooling mechanism of sweat—
: how when sweat evaporates, it takes some of the body heat with it.
: This insulating layer protects the cement from falling under high heat
: by taking on a honeycomb shape.
: This adds strength while also insulating against heat transfer
: using the air trapped in the honeycombs. I know! It sounds like science fiction!
: Then, after a fire, you can remove the honeycomb layer and repair the material
: instead of having to replace the entire cement structure, saving costs and resources.
: Next, speaking of heat, humans have been passively heating their homes
: with sunlight for thousands of years.
: But we couldn’t control the release of this heat until the 20th century.
: Only then did we invent collectors like thermal walls, which could absorb heat
: from sunlight and slowly release it over time, keeping us warm throughout the day.
: The trouble is, most of these collectors are made from rigid,
: heavy materials, which means their uses are limited.
: So engineers are looking to polar bears as inspiration for textile-like solar collectors,
: which would be more efficient, lightweight, and flexible than their predecessors.
: Polar bears have white fur and black skin that work together as a natural solar
: collector and insulator, which helps them stay warm in the extreme cold of the Arctic.
: Their outer fur is actually transparent—it only looks white
: because of the way it’s structured.
: That transparency allows the sunlight to reach their dark skin,
: which converts the sun’s energy into warmth.
: Another layer of dense underfur close to their skin is spaced just right,
: creating little pockets of air that trap heat close to the bear’s body.
: In fact, they radiate so little heat that they’re almost invisible to infrared detectors.
: The surface of their coats looks the same temperature as their environment!
: Inspired by this heat-trapping ability, researchers based in Germany and Austria
: shared a new type of solar collector in a 2015 paper.
: They imagine it being used as part of solar power,
: but this general idea could also help with buildings, too.
: The collector has two layers of transparent plastic and silicone
: that let light pass through to the bottom layer.
: These layers are positioned around a centimeter apart, trapping a layer of air
: between them and minimizing heat loss like a polar bear’s underfur.
: The bottom layer is black silicone, which absorbs the sun’s light
: and converts it to heat.
: And the warm air can be pumped out by a fan and stored for later use.
: Early tests show that this collector is able to generate temperatures
: of up to 150 degrees Celsius—although right now that only works
: when it’s in direct sunlight.
: Still, while those extreme temperatures might be helpful for solar power,
: that’s also not the kind of heat you’d need in a building.
: So, this idea could really come in handy,
: especially as textile-based buildings become more mainstream.
: These futuristic buildings are constructed from lightweight materials
: stretched over a frame or woven together,
: and are making everything about a building more sustainable,
: including its design, materials, usage, and even how it’s recycled at the end of its life.
: Adding a polar bear-inspired heating system would make them even more versatile.
: Buildings also need to stay comfortable in hot weather, though—
: and traditional cooling systems aren’t always the most efficient way
: of managing a building’s temperature.
: Also, heating and cooling systems account for a lot of
: the greenhouse gases we emit as a planet.
: Architects in the U.S. may have come up with a more efficient way
: of regulating a building’s temperature, though,
: and once again they have drawn on inspiration from the human body.
: In 2011, they released a prototype of a building exterior
: modeled after a biological process that’s similar to a thermostat—
: if a thermostat could control more than just temperature.
: That process is called homeostasis, and many organisms use it
: to keep their bodies functioning within pre-set limits,
: like an ideal temperature range or fluid balance.
: Basically, it allows things to remain stable on the inside
: even as conditions change on the outside.
: The team designed a glass building facade
: inspired by the way human muscles maintain homeostasis,
: by expanding and contracting to regulate heat as they work inside our bodies.
: Similarly, the facade helps regulate the internal temperature of the building
: by opening and closing itself.
: The exterior of the building is made up of two layers of glass,
: and sandwiched between them are swirling silver lines.
: Those lines are made up of ribbons of a special type of polymer
: that can have an electric current applied to it.
: It also has a silver coating that distributes an electrical charge
: across the entire surface.
: When sunlight warms the silver coating,
: the polymer expands and shades the building.
: Then, when the building cools off, the polymer contracts and allows more light inside.
: That way, the building responds to changing environmental conditions throughout
: the day, helping manage energy use in a more efficient and sustainable way.
: Now, this tech might not be best for places where you want extra sunlight—
: like, in the middle of a cold winter.
: But for a lot of climates, it could be a great step forward.
: Next up: concrete.
: Like we mentioned earlier, making concrete is a major contributor to climate change,
: but sometimes, it seems like there’s only so much you can do about that.
: Like, if a building is damaged during an earthquake…
: well, you’re gonna have to build another one.
: Some teams are looking into concrete recipes or processes
: that are overall better for the planet, but some are taking another route.
: Like, researchers at Purdue University are trying to strengthen concrete instead…
: by using cracks.
: More specifically, in 2018, they developed 3-D printed cement structures
: inspired by the mantis shrimp.
: Mantis shrimp hit their prey with a club-like front claw
: at an extremely high speed, which generates a lot of force.
: But even then, that claw does not crumble under pressure,
: thanks to the way the shell’s microscopic layers are arranged.
: The layers are stacked in a spiral, each layer slightly offset from the next.
: When stressed, cracks form in the microscopic layers, but the twisted structure
: keeps the cracks from spreading through the entire club.
: Specifically, the spiral forces the cracks to form parallel,
: or side to side within a layer, instead of perpendicular—or top to bottom.
: And every time a crack has to change direction,
: it requires a lot of force to do so, which causes it to lose some of its energy.
: If a crack does spread top to bottom, the next layer vibrates as the crack reaches it,
: absorbing the energy from the crack, keeping it from traveling into the next layer.
: Ultimately, these tiny twisting cracks stop the club from falling apart,
: by preventing larger cracks from forming that would compromise the structure.
: Using this club for inspiration, the researchers 3D printed a cement paste
: that’s laid out in a similar spiral design.
: Poured cement is brittle and when stressed,
: large cracks can form and lead to catastrophic failure.
: Not so with this 3D-printed material. Here, tiny cracks are stopped
: so they don’t spread throughout the layers, just like with the mantis shrimp.
: So the concrete is inherently stronger.
: The goal is to eventually use this type of material to build more
: earthquake-resistant structures. And that means less wasted concrete!
: Finally, windows. Windows can be an incredibly important part of a building
: on an aesthetic level. But since they’re so fragile, they’re also the weakest.
: Except, by mimicking an overlapping pattern found in fish scales,
: researchers may have found a way to improve the strength of laminated glass,
: while still preserving the ability to see through it.
: Laminated glass is created by sandwiching a soft,
: polymer-based layer between two layers of regular glass.
: This keeps the glass together if it breaks, making it safer.
: But it is not stronger—or at least it wasn’t until researchers in Canada
: discovered a way to improve the lamination process.
: In a paper published in 2018, they outlined their process
: for strengthening glass with a new lamination technique.
: They started by coating two sheets of glass with a flexible,
: heat-resistant polymer film, and then etched straight lines into the glass with a laser.
: The polymer film holds the glass together through the etching process.
: Then, they laid the sheets of glass on top of each other,
: with another layer of flexible polymer sandwiched between.
: They also rotated the top sheet of glass so the etched lines go in the
: opposite direction—known as cross-ply architecture—
: and that gives the glass added strength and flexibility.
: When this type of glass is stressed, the cross-ply architecture and stretchy polymer
: middle work together to help the glass be stretchy and tough instead of brittle.
: Testing revealed this glass to be 50 times tougher than regular glass,
: while still maintaining its see-through qualities.
: If this kind of glass spread, that would mean stronger, safer windows that might
: need to be replaced less often—all thanks to a pattern inspired by fish.
: Nature has been around for a long time, and we’re only beginning to tap into
: the engineering insights you can get from billions of years of evolution.
: But with materials like these, we’re looking at a future of buildings
: that are safer, more resilient, and better for our planet.
: When you think about things contributing to climate change,
: construction materials might not be what comes to mind first.
: But making things like cement, steel, and plastic releases a lot of greenhouse gases.
: And if you want to keep learning more about how we can make those things better,
: you can read Bill Gates’s new book “How to Avoid a Climate Disaster.”
: It talks about manufacturing, but also food,
: heating and cooling, transportation, and more.
: If you’re interested, you can find out more about